Table 1.

Definitions of targeted prescribing and outcome measures

Measure short name	Measure definition (patients in NHS Forth Valley immediately before intervention)	Associated harm	NHS Forth Valley intervention period	Prevalence of high-risk prescribing in NHS Forth Valley immediately before intervention, rate per 1000 (95% CI)
‘Triple whammy’	Patients aged ≥65 years (n= 51 595) prescribed diuretic + ACEI or ARB + NSAID (n= 596)	Acute kidney injury¹⁵^,¹⁶	April 2013–March 2014	11.6 (10.7 to 12.6)^{^a}
NSAIDs in older people	Patients aged ≥65 years (n= 51 595) prescribed NSAID without gastroprotection (n= 1 832)	Gastrointestinal bleeding¹⁷	April 2013–March 2014	35.5 (33.9 to 37.1)^{^a}
NSAIDs with OAC	Patients prescribed OAC (n= 3 423), then prescribed NSAID without gastroprotection (n= 23)	Gastrointestinal bleeding¹⁷	April 2013–March 2014	6.7 (4.5 to 10.0)^{^b}
Antipsychotics in older people^{^c}	Patients aged ≥75 years (n= 22 980) prescribed oral antipsychotic (n= 512)	Stroke and death¹⁸	April 2014–March 2015	22.3 (20.5 to 24.3)^{^d}

↵a Rate per 1000 population aged ≥65 years.
↵b Rate per 1000 prescribed OAC.
↵c As a proxy for older people with dementia.
↵d Rate per 1000 population aged ≥75 years. ACEI = angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor. ARB = angiotensin receptor blocker. NSAID = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. OAC = oral anticoagulant.